CBS: NFL Head Coach Rankings...Payton No. 4

4. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints: There is no better offensive mind in the NFL. He is smart, confident and arrogant -- and he coaches that way. His players love that about him. He was sorely missed last year when he sat out with the Bountygate suspension. He can be combative at times, which I kind of like, but there is no denying his smarts when it comes to offensive football. I want him calling my plays.

quote:Go for it on 4th down, in overtime, on your side of the field, and give the ball back to the best offense in the league with 5 yards to win the game

I was at that game. What made that decision even worse was the full context.

We had gone three and out on a couple successive drives immediately prior to that. Smith initially sent out the punt team, THEN called time out, then sent his offense back out, and then called a very obvious play that fooled absolutely no one.

Terrible decision making process, terrible decision (even if he had made it, it was a bad decision given the context), and terrible execution.